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Seth Rogen and James Franco star in the very funny and wreckless comedy |
High times make Express a blast
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
Directed by David Gordon Green
Certificate 15
THE snob inside me is going a deep crimson at the fact I laughed and laughed and laughed all the way through this ridiculous, childish comedy.
Pineapple Express, a tale of a murder witness with an unhealthy love of getting stoned all day, is a hugely enjoyable romp with three
disarming characters who, while bumbling through multiple police chases, shootouts and
girlfriend troubles are deliciously endearing.
Dale Denton (Seth Rogan of Knocked Up fame), is a happy 25-year-old who is spending his days dressing up in disguises to serve legal documents on people not keen to receive them.
It gives him plenty of time to drive about in his litter-filled car, smoke joints and listen to nice music. The only issue he has on the horizon is meeting the parents of his 18-year-old
girlfriend – until he witnesses a bloody murder at the home of a man he was due to deliver papers too, and then, in his haste to escape, drops a roach with a unique strand of dope that can be traced back to his dealer.
He and his supplier go on the run from a rag-tag band of hoodlums and a dodgy cop, leading to some super-stupid situations and marvellous, manic physical jokes.
Perhaps strangely for a dumb stoner comedy, there is also a quick political message running through the tale about the pros of legalising dope, including a sly call to decriminalise the weed so gangsters with guns don’t make cash out of it. The first five minutes takes us back to the 1930s, and has a five-star US Army general watching a GI take part in an experiment (a la Jacob’s Ladder). The poor soldier is told to smoke some specially grown cannabis to see what effect it has.
It turns him into an undisciplined mess who makes some rather lewd comments to his seniors.
Thus ends the US military’s involvement with the magic bush.
Trying to think of reasons not to enjoy this, I can only say that the plot gets mashed up as the gang of baddies close in on our hapless pair. However this sets up a nice Commando-style finale. The gags are rich and you can’t help but root for Dale and his chums.
I particularly enjoyed the slang used by the participants: some of the banter will crack you up, and, as soon as you have put yourself back together, another one-liner comes along.
Of course, with these types of teen-orientated, dope-addled comedies, some aspects (eg the far-fetched plot) are just so dumb that my brain did its best to escape out of one of my ears. But surely that’s what is meant to happen when someone smokes a giant bong in front of you?
Big but not clever, Pineapple Express will appeal to male 30-somethings who would still like to turn on, tune in and drop out, before remembering they have more important things to do, like write a movie column. |
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